The basement was certainly cozy with everyone settling in to sleep there. Karen didn't seem to have a single problem with it, grabbing extra pillows and making sure everyone ate dinner before they were left alone.
Max was quiet, quieter than usual, but no one could really blame her. When they first got back, Nancy had led Chrissy upstairs to clean up after everyone had been caught up with Max, Vecna and Victor Creel.
Chrissy no longer looked like she'd spent half her day crying, which was a plus, but her eyeshadow was lost after she washed her face. But at this point, she didn't even care.
Dustin was eating the last of the dinner pizza when she returned downstairs, Nancy at her side. Everyone pulled up a seat, leaned against a table or support pole, or just sat on the ground if you were Eddie.
"I still don't understand how something now could have happened like thirty years ago. What's the connection? Why now?" Steve asked.
"Does anything in this town ever make sense?" Robin asked.
"Touché," Steve shrugged.
"Maybe it's something that was released with the Mind Flayer," Lucas suggested. "There was a lot of crazy shit happening then. Maybe it woke something up that had been sleeping."
"That's a creepy thought," Robin muttered. "I thought we destroyed the Mind Flayer when..." She glanced at Max, who wasn't listening.
"Billy died," Nancy offered gently. "Yeah. We all thought that because El lost her powers at the same time. But...there has to be something."
"Do you think the Upside Down always existed, or did it start when Eleven opened the gate? Because if it was always there...maybe she wasn't the first person to y'know, open a full on portal to the other side," Dustin rambled.
Eddie leaned back a little. Chrissy was sitting in the armchair he was using as a back rest. She had her legs pulled up and tucked under her. He twisted around a little, resting his arm against the chair. She had her headphones in, but took them off when he turned around.
"I'm totally lost here," he said, voice low enough to not interrupt the others who were still tossing ideas back and forth. "These people get into some fucked up shit."
Chrissy twisted the headphone wire around her fingers. "I wasn't really listening."
A pause and he turned around even more, folding his arm over the droopy armrest and resting his chin on his wrist.
He looked so endearing and concerned.
"I'm not as freaked out," she admitted, looking over at Max, who was sitting at the far end of the couch. The red haired girl wasn't paying attention to the conversation, lost in the turmoil of her own mind and going over and over again her fragile mortality. "To think Max almost...I don't know if I could have fought as hard as she did to come back."
Eddie squeezed her leg and she felt her heart seize up in a way it never had before. "You would have. You did already, didn't you? You'll do it again, if it happens."
He believed in her and he barely knew her. That fact alone meant so much to her, but she didn't think she'd ever be able to put it into words.
"You put a lot of faith in a cheerleader." She whispered.
"You put a lot of faith in a freak like me." He whispered back.
"You're not a freak."
"I honestly don't mind it. You think I act this way to be liked?" An easy smile falling onto his face. "Only the best people make it through my prickly exterior."
